FIRE FIGHTS FIRE

By Kinyua Njeri

Africans are ideally the greatest thinkers when it comes to proverbs. Theirs seem to be the most realistic as they allude well to real life contexts. One of those proverbs is the Swahili , "Dawa ya moto ni moto". Definitely, when a rival lights up a fire against you, get a bigger one and overpower him!

I've been a keen follower of MUSO politics, that before and during my time. I have seen Moi University produce great brainy characters for the political auditorium to behold. Take the case of Dikembe, Macharia and Masero, the then united trio that was vocal for change in the SGC. Their youthful and adrenalized vigour burnt so hotly and they couldn't stomach the misconducts of the 25th SGC. Being prominent writers to reckon with, they burst into a controversial critique titled "IGWEE THE DREAMER”. In it, they fervently and plainly faulted the misuse of power by the SGC until they ended up losing their editorial positions in the MUPC. This is one of the greatest pieces I've read.

To cool their boiling desire to topple the SGC, another idea was introduced to them – reviewing the MUSO Constitution. Someone who is conversant with legal procedures of coming up with a constitution will agree with me that time is a great ingredient. Spirited in the service to the union (and of course to themselves) they shifted all their attention to the appealing idea. I'd have wished to tell you that they drafted a constitution that was approved by the senate. But it was not on grounds of being inclined to the students’ welfare at the expense of the administration's. By then, time had flown and the Mwamburi’s government had already finished its term. You now see how fire can be put off by another?

Exit the history lecture room and enter the present. At the entrance, find a heap of dusty, cob-webbed heaps of MUSO constitution drafts. One of them is the one that was born from the efforts of a Constitution Review Commission that included the above named trio. Then, just below it, find the one we're currently using. From the looks of it, you can tell that it is rarely used.

It is the same constitution that, in its formal terseness, states that the elections should have been held in the 8th week of the 2nd semester of the previous academic year. That should have been sometime in September last year. However, the name 'Annual General Meeting' tilts the whole concept to mean that a given SGC must see the dawning of a whole twelve months. That totals to mid-February when the incumbent SGC was voted in. Now this is May and there are no symptoms of elections.

And to make sure this is fortified, the embrace of diverse ideas is here with us again. It all started early this semester when two groups, one agitating for the elections right away and the other for a 'quick' constitution, made their way to the authorities to push for their respective demands. Definitely, with the nature of the bureaucracy here, giving options and diverging interests pokes enough holes that allow manipulation from above.

Then the lighters of fire emerged once again. The constitution group was given the go-ahead but later disbanded on Friday on grounds that it never represented the comrades' will. For now, what warrants fear is the fate of our so-called MUSO. Think of this; what will happen in July when the likes of Doghana, Ogega and Mururu are through with their 4th year and are gone? Who will sit in the Senate to represent students?

Save the hate for the SGC and you'll discover the importance of the dockets they hold. The Academics, Security and Accommodation and the Chairperson's positions are the most sensitive for a context like Moi's. With the expected huge influx of enrolments at the beginning of the next semester, the welfare of students is at risk.

How I hope that the two ideas; constitution and elections, do not become fires that extinguish each other!